Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Don't Marginalize Them

What bring more joy then spending time with those who need care and love during festive season? I'm not talking about orphanages or old folks homes. Last week my wife and I decided to spend a meaningful evening with a bunch of ex-drug-addicts.

My wife made some puddings, I ordered two barrels of KFC and 4 large pizzas, and off we went to the rehab centre together with a few church members. The yummy goodies had definitely brought much joy to the inmates and us alike.We got to know each other, spent time chatting with them and cared for their emotional needs.We had even sang a few songs of praises together, and played some funny but enjoyable games. It was a great way to break the ice.They may be drug addicts, but they are under recovery and rehabilitation. These people need a lot of encouragement and care. Probably those were the things that were lacking in their life when they got hooked to the drugs. People tried to marginalize them, some to the extend of refusing them job after they had gone through rehab. In the end, many of them were jobless, and got hooked up to the drugs again. Sad isn't it?

However, these bunch of friends in this particular rehab are different. They were taught and equipped with new skills during their rehab program. Many of them got graduated, and were able to survive using the skills they'd learnt.

We were glad to be able to spend time with these brothers. The gathering had opened up our eyes and had better understanding about their problems and emotional struggles. So friends, don't marginalize them. Care for them instead.

[rerama] thanks my friend.I used to be like you too, afraid that these people might have diseases, or do some thing bad to us... and the actually fact is, all they need is attention and care. It's difficult but we try our best.